Digital Ehon Award Interview Series, Vol. 5

“Digital Is an Overwhelmingly Superior Medium Compared to Paper”

　Kenichiro Mogi, a neuroscientist, actively shares his perspectives on the challenges facing today’s education system through Twitter, his blog, and the mass media. We spoke with him about the future of Digital Ehon and what learning should look like for children in our information-driven society.

　“Some people argue that ‘it’s not good to give children digital devices!’ but that’s a misunderstanding. There’s no basis for the claim that it has to be on paper,” he begins. Mogi states that the greatest feature of Digital Ehon is its interactivity. What’s essential for brain development is “getting a response.”Digital Ehon offers the advantage of allowing us to delve deeper into this aspect. “From the brain’s perspective, it’s all about what kind of information comes in and what kind of interaction is possible. Digital clearly offers deeper and broader interaction, so it is an overwhelmingly superior medium to paper—especially for children,” he asserts.

　Even before that, children are attuned to the times. Dr. Mogi says he had a strong interest in space as a child. He was one of those who was thrilled when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. “It’s only natural that today’s children are drawn to computers and the internet. Digital Ehon serves as a gateway to modern civilization and the civilization of the future.“So it’s only natural that today’s children are interested in Digital Ehon. They embody the present and the future, and they offer the joy of interacting with computers and networks in various ways,” he explains.

　We are entering an era of massive amounts of information. Therefore, the value of knowledge will shift from whether one possesses it to how one can use it.In the field of cognitive science, research has shown that when test subjects are told in advance that “this word can be searched on Google,” they tend to forget the word. “There’s no particular need to remember something you can just Google. There’s no point in memorizing knowledge; rather, the point lies in how to connect ideas. This will naturally influence the way children learn as well.”

　Citing his friend William Saito, who argues in his book *The Team* that “what Japan lacks is a sense of teamwork,” he added, “In the past, learning was evaluated based on how well each individual scored on paper tests.However, in the coming era, it will be important not for one person to do everything alone, but rather to connect through a network and create something as a team. Neither Steve Jobs nor Bill Gates had particularly good grades.” He adds that while children’s learning must change, it inevitably takes time for education to evolve.Amid the gap between the demands of the times and the education actually being provided, how children use computers and the Internet becomes crucial. In today’s world, this means not merely being recipients of information, but creating and disseminating it.

“Japan’s entrance exams have already become dinosaurs.We should fundamentally reform the entrance exams,” he argues. At the same time, he points out that a segment of the wealthy class has already given up on the Japanese education system and is sending their children to study abroad. While Japanese education—particularly university entrance exams—still places heavy emphasis on paper-based tests, overseas schools are implementing project-based learning, where students collectively work on a single theme over the course of a semester.“Parents who have the financial means and are thinking about their children’s potential for growth once they enter the real world are already boycotting the Japanese education system. And this trend is likely to accelerate. If you truly care about your child’s happiness, there’s no need to go along with the Japanese university entrance exam system.”

　In the Japanese entrance exam system, getting into a good university and landing a job at a major corporation does not necessarily guarantee a promising future or happiness. “To determine what skills are needed in the coming era, simply observe people around the age of 25 who have graduated from college and started working: see which ones seem to enjoy their work and which ones appear to have a bright future—the answer is clear.”There are many people who are thriving on the global stage without a college degree. Some might say, “That person is special,” but “an era is coming where everyone can be special.”

Now, when people hear “digital,” many think of video games. That’s because video games were the first digital devices to successfully enter children’s lives.“When people think of ‘digital,’ the image is strongly associated with ‘play’ rather than ‘study.’ However, that is nothing more than a prejudice.” Rather, he argues that those who create learning materials should take on the challenge of providing educational resources that rival *Super Mario Bros.*—ones that children can become engrossed in while having fun and learning.

　Since the widespread adoption of the iPad, the landscape of adult work has changed dramatically. “Everyone is reading papers, proofreading manuscripts, and working seriously, yet it looks as if they’re just playing on their tablets.” In advanced civilized societies, the boundary between work and play is steadily disappearing.Originally, play and learning were one and the same. Although the two eventually came to be distinguished, in an advanced civilized world, play and learning are merging once again. “The country that can quickly embody this sense of civilization and create such things will become the world’s leader. Successful people invariably believe that learning is play.”

　Digital Ehon provides an environment where learning and play are accessible to anyone, anytime, and anywhere. The spread of Digital Ehon is expected to accelerate. That is precisely why he points out that what is needed now is a dedicated, shared platform for Digital Ehon—similar to YouTube for videos.“It would be great if the Digital Ehon Awards also evolved to be user-selected, with evaluations determined through a social format. I have high hopes for the international expansion of picture books—a field that, while retaining Japan’s unique culture, can reach global audiences regardless of the Japanese context.”